FED:Abbott rejects GST change call

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has dismissed a call from a Liberal backbencher to expand the GST.

Liberal MP Jamie Briggs says state treasurers should be arguing the case for an extension of the GST to include fresh food.

"I think it has to be discussed, I mean if you're serious about having a tax forum," he told ABC Radio in Adelaide on Wednesday.

Mr Abbott told reporters in Dandenong he disagreed with the idea.

"It's just a view from a backbencher - it's not our policy," he said. "We have no intention whatsoever of making any change in this area."

In this particular area the government and opposition were in "absolute lockstep".

Mr Abbott said he had not disciplined Mr Briggs over the comments. "We are not Stalinists," he said, adding backbenchers were entitled to a view. But that is not a view shared by anyone else in our party."

Treasurer Wayne Swan has rejected any attempt to widen the base of the GST.